Well, the 2006 MLB regular season has ended (final standings), and it sure was fun to be a Yankees fan. But overall, it was kinda blah, no? Not a ton for the history books, and, it feels to me, not a particularly exciting playoff field.
I don't pretend to be in tune with what other teams' fans are feeling, but I can't expect a ton to be too high on Regular Season '06.
Yanks and Twins fans, for sure, have to be thrilled with where they stand. Oakland, I guess, had fun, but nobody will pay attention to them till they win a playoff series. The Tigers and Mets were way more optimistic in June, though New York has the good fortune of playing in a Quadruple-A league. The Cardinals won their division by default. The Padres still haven't shown up for last year's postseason. And the Dodgers, I guess, don't suck as much as the Phillies.
And those are the teams that did make the playoffs.
The season was a straight-up disaster for the Red Sux. If their fans really are happy when they're miserable, then they're dancing a jig today. The Cubs continue to be an embarrassment for big-market teams. The White Sox faded into good-but-not-great status. The Blue Jays spent a ton of money to improve, but never evolved into anything greater than just another team on the schedule. The Indians were a flat disappointment. The Astros finished two games above .500, yet were talked about as a serious NL threat heading into the final weekend. And a ton of teams — the Orioles, Devil Rays, Royals, Rangers, Pirates, Rockies and more — continue their years-long string of blowing chunks.
Or maybe I'm being too hard on RS '06. Just seems to me to have been a little dull. Which, of course, donesn't lend itself to a highly anticipated postseason.
As For the Yankees:
• I was hoping Bernie Williams would start one final time in center field at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. (And yes, that means I hope he never starts out there again.) But he got to play manager, so I guess he didn't want to give himself the nod, even though it would have been cool as hell to see him come off for a defensive replacement, as did Jeter late in the game. Bernie really deserved a moment like that after 15 years — and four Gold Gloves — at the most hallowed position in sports.
• Great news about Randy being a go for Game 3. Gotta be the most anxious a 97-win team (that hardly tried to win its last 10) has ever been about the health of a 5.00 ERA pitcher heading into the postseason.
• Mariano Rivera finished the season with a 1.80 ERA — his fourth straight under 2.00 — and about a half-run better than his career mark of 2.29, the best, by far, of any qualifying pitcher during his career. Unreal.
• Shawn Chacon and Aaron Small had ERAs of 7.00 and 8.46, respectively. The clock didn't just strike midnight. It knocked it out cold. (Team pitching stats.)
• I'll be at the Stadium, in the crappy left-field bleachers, Tuesday night, and possibly Wednesday (update: definitely Wednesday). God help me get through watching a game 550 feet from home plate, in a no-alcohol section, with people constantly standing on my seat to get a better look at everything.
• Good luck, A-Rod. Eleven wins could put an end to a lot of bullshit. (But only if you do 20% better than everyone else, I guess.)
Do "successful regular seasons" really mean anything to the Yankees? With a $750 billion payroll, maybe 97 wins is a disappointment ;-)
I'm wondering if this is a pre-emptive post for when the Yanks fail to win a ring once again. In the new millennium, the Yanks are becoming the new Braves. But hey, you got Wang at the top of your rotation, so there's nothing to worry about.
Posted by CJ at October 2, 2006 1:37 PM